Presenting information heretofore difficult or impossible to find in English, this work opens a window on the colorful panorama of Finnish music. The 500-plus entries present historical and modern composers, the accomplishments of hundreds of internationally acclaimed performing artists, as well as more general articles on folk music, early manuscripts and publications, cantors and hymnals, early Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Lutheran music, leading orchestras and choral groups, festivals, and much more. No other such extensive and comprehensive work on Finnish music exists in any language other than Finnish and Swedish. This English-language dictionary makes the subject available to readers throughout the world. In addition to the entries, chronologies of Finnish history and Finnish music, as well as a map of Finland, correlate history and locations with the entries. A general bibliography and entry-specific bibliographies offer further resources. The Dictionary interprets a sometimes limited amount of available information, describing forms and styles of compositions, operatic roles performed, the content of scholarly work, and significant and unusual events in the lives of the musicians.

Finland was part of Sweden until 1809, it then became a Grand Duchy of the Russian Empire until it declared its independence on December 6, 1917. From these humble beginnings, Finland has emerged as an important player in the European Union and the world. Historical Dictionary of Finland, Third Edition contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has more than 300 cross-referenced entries on important personalities as well as aspects of the country’s politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Finland.

The five countries that make up Northern Europe—Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Iceland—have, over the course of the last several centuries, developed and unique and viable art music history that easily rivals that of their continental neighbors. Nordic Art Music: From the Middle Ages to the Third Millennium provides an informative and accessible overview of the fascinating historical and aesthetic developments of this music and its creators, from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, through the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic eras, to the beginning of this new century. Though some Nordic composers, including Edvard Grieg, Carl Nielsen, and Jean Sibelius, have found great acclaim in all parts of the world, author Frederick Key Smith lays the foundation for their work in his discussion of the many composers relatively unknown outside of Northern Europe. Smith ably discusses the composers, styles, and representative works of each era in language that makes for a highly readable musical history as well as a superior reference guide. The first English-language book of its type in nearly 40 years, Smith's study brings into focus this broad and exciting aspect of music history.

Einojuhani Rautavaara (1928–2016) has been called Finland’s most notable musical export after Sibelius. His prolific output includes eleven operas; eight symphonies; eleven concertos; choral works for the Orthodox, Lutheran, and Roman Catholic churches; secular choral works; chamber music; vocal solos; and keyboard works. Many of these works were commissioned by internationally known performers and ensembles including Vladimir Ashkenazy, Richard Stoltzman, Hilary Hahn, Anne Akiko Meiers, Gerald Finley, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Juilliard School of Music Orchestra. Perhaps most frequently performed are his Cantus Arcticus, a concerto for recorded arctic birds and orchestra, Angel of Light, his seventh symphony, and the Lorca choral suite depicting Death as a stalker in a Spanish village. Rautavaara’s Journey in Music is divided into two sections; the first a biography and discussion of works that show his various style changes, from neoclassical, to twelve-tone, to neoromantic, and finally to a personal expressive style combining elements of twelve-tone and tonality. The second part divides his works by genre and gives more detailed information of stylistic analysis, libretto, provenance, and, often, reception.

The Reader's Guide to Music is designed to provide a useful single-volume guide to the ever-increasing number of English language book-length studies in music. Each entry consists of a bibliography of some 3-20 titles and an essay in which these titles are evaluated, by an expert in the field, in light of the history of writing and scholarship on the given topic. The more than 500 entries include not just writings on major composers in music history but also the genres in which they worked (from early chant to rock and roll) and topics important to the various disciplines of music scholarship (from aesthetics to gay/lesbian musicology).

This edition provides the full set of letters in English translation. It is complemented by the letters' online availability in their original language. Rosa Harriet Newmarch [1857-1940] was well-known in her lifetime as the leading British authority on Russian music, yet she also enjoyed a long and close friendship with the Finnish composer, Jean Sibelius [1865-1957]. This edition traces a personal and professional relationship that lasted more than three decades, as documented in more than 130 letters, notes and telegrams currently held in the National Archives of Finland. The correspondence, conducted in a mixture of French and German, reveals the intense friendship between Sibelius and Newmarch, sheds detailed light on Newmarch's contribution to the development of musical life in Britain, and provides some of Sibelius's most intimate commentary on his own works, as well as on those of other composers. This edition contains the complete extant correspondence between Newmarch and Sibelius in English translation, complemented by comprehensive commentaries on the events and personalities referred to, and is prefaced by an extensive introduction outlining Newmarch's definitive role in promoting Sibelius and his music in early twentieth-century Britain. An appendix reproduces a previously unknown programme note that Newmarch wrote for the first British performance of Sibelius's Fourth Symphony. The book's translation and publication of the letters in English is complemented by the letters' online availability in their original language. PHILIP ROSS BULLOCK is University Lecturer in Russian at the University of Oxford, and Tutor and Fellow at Wadham College, Oxford.

This succinct yet comprehensive volume outlines the contributions and culture of Minnesota's Finnish Americans, perhaps best known for their cooperative ventures, their political involvement, and, of course, their saunas.

Opera is the only guide to the research writings on all aspects of opera. This second edition presents 2,833 titles--over 2,000 more than the first edition--of books, parts of books, articles and dissertations with full bibliographic descriptions and critical annotations. Users will find the core literature on the operas of 320 individual composers and details of operatic life in 43 countries. All relevant works through to November 1999 have been considered, covering more than fifteen years of literature since the first edition was published.

When we speak of "classical music" it often refers rather loosely to serious "art" music but at the core is really the music of the classical period running from about 1730 to 1800, give or take. This was truly one of the most glorious periods for both composition and performance and it is this classical music which is still at the core of today's repertoire. Obvious names connected with this period are Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, but there were many more still reasonably well known like Gluck and C.P.E Bach, and dozens more who are regrettably little known today. This Historical Dictionary of Music of the Classical Period includes not only these composers, but also eminent conductors and performers, patrons, and publishers. There are also dictionary entries on major centers of music-making, typical instruments, important technical terms, and emerging musical forms, including the symphony and opera. Indeed, with a 1,000 cross-referenced entries, there is information on most matters of interest. This is prefaced by an extensive chronology, tracing the course of this period from year to year, and an introduction taking a careful look at the period as a whole. Finally, there is a substantial bibliography. Surely, this is a book which will appeal not only to students and researchers but all music-lovers.